


Fatherhood Only Changes Good Men

by Katiebishop



Category: Iron Man (Movies), Marvel Cinematic Universe
Genre: I mean, Parent Tony Stark, Tony Stark Has A Heart, i guess
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-04-08
Updated: 2018-04-08
Packaged: 2019-04-20 10:03:44
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 635
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14258607
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Katiebishop/pseuds/Katiebishop
Summary: Tony got married because that was what was expected of him. He had a kid because that was what was expected of him. He got a divorce and ignored the kid because that was what was expected of him. All other actions were made of his of volition.





	Fatherhood Only Changes Good Men

**Author's Note:**

> Hey all! I've basically been fostering this Tony Stark daughter OC since 2010, so I decided to write out her relationship with her dad from his perspective and maybe a little more about her later on. Also Joanne Nivena was Tony's fiance in the comics when he's kidnapped/becomes Iron Man. I need to develop her character more for sure, so stick around for that.

Tony wasn’t there when she was born. He was working and had told his assistant not to disturb him for anything. He should have clarified that “anything” did not include the birth of his child. 

The whole thing was already over by the time he found out about it. Obi and the Nivena’s were at the hospital, cooing over the little pink thing, making sure Joanne got her rest. He got to the hospital with balloons and a giant stuffed chicken that was meant for an Easter basket. No one said anything, but they were very obviously disappointed in him. He was the seventh or eighth person to hold his daughter when he should have been the third: right after the doctor and Joanne. 

Joanne stayed in the hospital for about a week. They wanted to monitor her after the complications. What complications? Tony didn't totally know. No one wanted to explain what had happened. He should have been there himself. He stayed with her. So did her parents. They didn’t trust him to take care of their little girls. Tony wondered if anything did happen to Joanne, they’d take Becca for themselves. 

That’s what they named her: Becca. Rebecca, technically. Strong Hebrew name meaning servant of God. Tony didn’t know how he felt about his daughter being a day old and already servant to some being he wasn’t even sure existed. Her middle name was Maria, for his mother. Maria meant wished for child. That wasn’t exactly accurate either. 

They brought her home and Tony realized how un-kid friendly the house was. Modern architecture didn’t jive well with tiny, fragile beings with self destructive tendencies. 

Joanne had hired a decorator for the nursery who set everything while they were at the hospital. Pink room, yellow trim. Lots of flowers and birds everywhere. Tony wondered how it might have looked had Becca been a boy. Blue and cars?

They had a nurse and nanny live in with them. Their rooms were closer to Becca’s than the master was. They also had baby monitors that couldn’t shut off. 

Tony stayed out of Joanne and the nanny and the nurses way. He focused on work and made up excuses not to help. They needed him at the office, he had oil and grease everywhere, she always cried when he held her. 

She was a few months when he was finally left alone with her for the first time. Joanne had fired the nanny and was out interviewing new ones. The nurse had the day off. Tony had Becca gated in the corner of his lab while he worked on Boattail Speedster. His music was so loud he almost didn’t hear her crying. He wondered how long she had been before he noticed. 

There was a list Joanne had left him, of what to do if Becca cried. Check the diaper, give her a bottle, burp her... her face was red and her hands were clenched. Her diaper was clean, she wouldn’t take to the bottle, and burping her didn’t help. All he could do was hold her and walk the perimeter of the garage, hoping the movement might calm her down. Something in him, call it fatherly instinct or cultural osmosis, told him to sing. The only thing that seemed appropriate was Songbird. He would never have considered himself a fan of Fleetwood Mac, but he sang and she listened and her crying quieted until she fell asleep on his chest. 

He started keeping her down in the garage with him while he worked. It was easier on Joanne and he knew how to calm her now. He felt like a dad. He wondered if his own father ever felt this way. Probably not. There’s no way Howard  would have ever held him even if her cried.

**Author's Note:**

> If anyone insinuates I'm a Tony Stark apologist they will be blocked.


End file.
